New member - combined anterior and posterior cervical spine surgery
 

I am new member, please excuse any rookie mistakes. I have 2 conditions. One is causing me current pain in my neck, right shoulder blade, right triceps area...with tingling in my right forearm and some numbness in my right hand. It is believed from CT scan, MRI, Xrays, and examination that I have bone spurs and a bulging disc causing issues with C5-C7.

Secondarily I have OPLL - ossification (calcification) posterior longitudinal ligament - with some stenosis pressing on my spinal cord. My surgeon and his team are recommending a combined anterior and posterior approach. Anterior to fix the bone spurs\bulging disc (my most serious current pain) and Posterior to correct the OPLL\Stenosis issue. This is a mouthful but my upcoming surgery is called "c5-c7 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion and C2-T2 posterior spinal decompression and fusion". With the combined approach and many levels its an estimated 6-7 hour surgery 4 or 5 days in the hospital.

My question is if anyone on this forum has had a combined anterior\posterior cervical spine surgery? and if so what was their experience? anything regarding expectations post surgery...both short and long term would be appreciated. I know it won't likely be positive, but I have experienced difficulty finding information regarding patient outcomes of a similar procedure. Good or bad, I can't find it. It just appears to be rare, though my surgeon tells me he does many of them each year.

Any advice on how to find folks with a similar experience to learn from?

To me it sounds pretty complex. I can only say I'm pretty damaged from Anterior Hip Replacement 11 yrs ago. Before I'd do anything that you are discussing, see a PRP/Stem Cell MD for at least a consult. Find a highly qualified MD who does a lot of this work, and if you happen to live in Los Angeles area I can give you a highly qualified provider.

getprolo.com

This work can SAVE people from surgery, which cannot be reversed and one often ends up worse off.

Welcome sksdl. :welcome_sign:

sksdl, welcome!

I'd be very careful about deciding on spinal surgery. Even doctors themselves have been concluding that many spinal surgeries aren't necessary and that the problems they're meant to correct can be corrected in other ways.

You mention that the surgeon has said he does many of these surgeries each year. You should ask him how many he does in a year. And find out anything you can about his training and experience, whether he's got the necessary credentials. Patient ratings and reviews can be helpful too.